Civil | HENSEL PHELPS CONSTRUCTION CO.
Jetting Forward
HENSEL PHELPS PLANS TO ARRIVE ON TIME WITH THE AUSTIN BERGSTROM AIRPORT. BY KAT ZEMAN
O
ne of the largest general
contractors and construction
managers in the United States,
Hensel Phelps Construction
is about midway through a $350 million
expansion project at Austin-Bergstrom
International Airport in Texas.
The mammoth project, that broke ground
in 2015, is targeting completion in 2019.
Hensel Phelps is handling the construction portion of the project that amounts
to roughly $276 million. The project's
highlights include new contact gates, an
expanded airfield for jet parking, apron
pavement expansions and more concession
space for shops and restaurants.
"I think it's going to be a great project
for the city of Austin," Project Manager Joe
Sanders says. "It's a great design that builds
on the city's character." The expansion is expected to boost Austin-Bergstrom's capacity
by 27 to 30 percent.
The airport was designed to serve
roughly 11 million passengers per year.
However, more than 12 million have been
flowing through its doors in recent years.
On completion, Austin-Bergstrom will be
able to handle roughly 15 million. "It's a
much-needed expansion," Sanders says. "It's
something that has been talked about for a
long time."
Opening Doors
The largest chunk of the project is the $120
million terminal expansion. Nine new contact gates with boarding bridges are being
added to the airport's existing 24 gates to
keep pace with the increasing passenger
traffic and prepare for future growth. The
expansion required Hensel Phelps to shut
down three gates during construction. "So
we came up with temporary walkways,"
Sanders says. "We shut down three and
opened four temporary elevated walkways."
The total size of the terminal expansion
project is nearly 180,000 square feet. It
features new concourse space, apron-level
102
CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM JULY/AUGUST 2017
Austin Bergstrom International
» The
Airport expansion will be able to handle
15 million passengers each year.
space, mezzanine and platform-level space
and a patio. The concourse level expansion
component will include a wider concourse,
new hold-room spaces, gate podiums,
signage, concessions and support space,
duty-free concessions, restroom facilities,
mechanical systems and upgrades to
security systems. "We are doing a considerable amount of improvements within the
terminal," Sanders says.
On the apron level, improvements will
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
www.henselphelps.com
* Local office: Austin, Texas
* Employees: 2,727
* Project: Austin Bergstrom
International Airport expansion
"I ink it's going to be a great
project for e city of Austin.
It's a great design at builds
on e city's character."
- Joe Sanders, project manager